…my brethren, when you encounter various trials. (James 1:2)

The Good News…

…is that despite the headlines, the banging of pots and pans, the crowing, and the chest pounding, very little changed yesterday – very little. Romney won Hawaii and American Somoa is still outstanding – Santorum’s likely gain in delegates is about 3. Folks that’s a field goal against a 5 touchdown lead. Keep your eye on the prize. That counter looks about the same as it did Monday. Also remember the “epic” Obama/Clinton primary battle. It was not as epic as the press wanted you to believe. UPDATE: Counts vary but in the light of a new day and with some perspective, it seems Romney actually increased his delegate lead. Who “won” again? Back to the original post.

The Mountain West states and Hawaii, which as you know are heavily populated, disproportionately populated with the Mormon population, which is favorable to Governor Romney, those states are now by and large in. And now you’re going to look at the areas of the country where we can do well. [emphasis added]

In other words Santorum, by his own admission, can succeed in states disproportionately populated with Evangelicals – Places like Alabama and Mississippi. See these wins don’t count for him anymore than Romney’s counted. Except when it comes to delegates where Romney still has a massive lead.

And given that proportionality is the issue, now what Rick? Are we to bus people of faith around the nation to make sure that we are religiously balanced? I mean bussing worked so well for schools. And even that bit of rye commentary ignores the implication of illegitimacy by the very choice of the word – as if Mormonism does not have a right to compete in the religious marketplace, let alone succeed.

But I want to close as I started, with hope and joy. A friend shared a link to this post by a Catholic and I think it is worth sharing:

To fight for hope, to save human dignity from the hostility that would destroy it, we must care for the sick, clothe the naked, feed the hungry, defend the oppressed, comfort the lonely, and bring relief to the poor. Against an entertainment industrial complex which mocks everything that is wholesome, we must promote healthy marriages, vibrant family life, the dignity of work and the rights of those who labor. Any affront to human dignity and freedom is another front in our fight for the truth. Yet this battle is not limited merely to the public square and the marketplace of public opinion, we must also take the fight to those places in our own hearts in which vestiges of this hostility still linger.

Santorum got a net of 9 delegates over Romney in MS and AL. Romney got a net of 14 delegates over Santorum in Hawaii and American Samoa. Advantage Romney, expanding his lead over Santorum by 5 delegates.

At this point, the only scenarios in which Santorum wins the nomination involve very low probability misfortunes for Romney or some spectacular genius marketing ploy by Santorum, such as him taking over the controls of a plane after the pilot and copilot both have heart attacks and safely landing it on the Washington beltway. The only thing he can accomplish is causing chaos at the convention, which will demonstrate he puts his own ego above the party and the nation. How does he appeal to a majority of independents if he only attracts a minority of Republicans?

John or Lowell saved me yesterday from embarrassing myself. I submitted what I thought at the time was a witty but edgy appraisal of Santorum’s meandering among the hate mongers and opposition forces. Thankfully it never made it to public view. I recognize now it was highly inappropriate. I appreciate whomever had the good sense to delete it. A good night’s sleep helps in these things.

Mitt continues to roll up the delegate count as Rick and company crow about how they have locked up the South’s support. You cannot deny that Rick and Newt are more popular among people who claim to be the Republican Party’s arch-conservative base. What is not talked about is that they represent a minority of the voters needed to actually elect a president. That means if we followed thier lead Barack Obama would have another four years in office. Historically, moderates, independants and fiscal conservatives make up the voters who elect Republicans to the office of president. Social conservatives have yet to do that by themselves. The last time we had an arch conservative nominated was 1964 and he, Barry Goldwater, lost in an embarassing defeat. The moral of that story is to not trust arch-conservative judgement which is precisley what Rick and Newt represent.

“as if Mormonism does not have a right to compete in the religious marketplace, let alone succeed.”

Oh boy . . this is quite possibly THE heart of the disconnect . . it goes to the question of whether one can trust Mormons (which is obviously related to, though is not Mormonism).

Trust is a code word for Orthodox Christian, or “not Christian” for those who cannot be trusted. And for some “conservatives”, Mormons – not just Mormonism – cannot and should not be trusted.

For those, not only does Mormonism not have a right to compete, neither do any of its adherents. Those believe in the righteousness of their Christian bigotry manifest in the public square . . and for those standing by and watching (and benefiting), perhaps it is an acceptable form of religious jihad.

We’re just coming off a couple weeks where the topic of religion in the public square was a deliberate tack in the primary course. I’m sure others picked up on the surge in evangelical voting in the South . . are there some who really believe it was a “happy coincidence” for the non-Romneys more than a strategy? (This one worked better than the cross-over strategy in Ohio.)